Bathrooms make style statements
|
Stylish as they are, modern bathrooms are largely seen as a private space to refresh and relax and even read and listen to music.
|
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE: Modern bathrooms offer a pleasant ambience.
While bathrooms have, of late, become stylish with architects and interior designers working to combine beauty and utility as desired by clients, careful planning is indispensable in designing them. More so, because bathrooms cannot be altered as frequently as other parts of the house can be refurbished, since plumbing and sanitary facilities are expensive.
Few areas of a house calls for greater attention, from an angle of beauty and utility, than the bathroom. Aesthetic appeal and usefulness are of much importance while designing it. Stylish as they are, modern bathrooms are largely seen as a private space to refresh and relax. Architects say the design of a bathroom should be dictated by the needs of its users and available space.
Time was when toilets were located outside the houses. Concepts have also changed with the flooding of advanced sanitary and bathroom fittings in the market. Bathrooms are no longer treated as a less important part of a house. Today, the bathroom is seen as a reflection of its owner's personal taste. Manufacturers of premium-range bathrooms have succeeded in highlighting how it can reflect his or her personality.
"Positioning and space utilisation of toilets inside a house require special attention," says George K. Thomas, architect. Unlike other rooms, the toilet has permanent fixtures, he says. An architect should ensure that care is taken to give as much importance to concealed plumbing and sanitary lines as to the designing of the interiors of the bathroom, he says.
Different users
The architects and interior designers call for varied considerations while planning bathrooms for different users: working couple, children and the aged. While safety is an important aspect to be considered while designing and arranging a bathroom for children and the aged, working people, often, prefer the bathroom to be a place to relax and refresh and even to read and listen to music.
Comfort and style are major concerns of clients while getting their bathrooms designed, says Mr. Thomas, who is president of the Indian Institute of Architects Kannur chapter.
The architects and bathroom designers say that sufficient care should be taken while selecting the sanitary fixtures to ensure colour coordination, water-saving, easy-to-clean surface, noise-free flushing, stain-free glaze and smooth contours.
The plumbing consultants add their list of do's and don'ts while setting up a bathroom. For them, plumbing, sanitation and drainage system should be given special care while planning bathrooms. If the system fails, the design meant to give comfort and style is rendered useless. For example, they say, the septic tank and soak pit should be at sufficient depths to allow the smooth gravitational flow of solids and effluents into the tank.
M.N.S. Namboothiri of a Kottayam-based plumbing consultancy firm, says that air vents and inspection chambers should be suitably located. Unwanted materials should not be flushed in the water closet, he says, as these will clog the drainage pipes.
Care should also be taken to ensure that soap water does not enter the septic tank. Waste containing excessive detergent or disinfectants should not be led into the septic tank, as they adversely affect anaerobic decomposition, he says. Mr. Namboothiri, who is doing consultancy service for architects in Kannur, says that the water and soil piping system should be ventilated for the removal of foul gases. He also calls for care while constructing the septic tank. "Construction of a septic tank should be such that direct currents are not established between the inlet and outlet," he says. This is achieved by using submerged pipe-tees or baffle valves near the inlet and outlet ends, he advises.
MOHAMED NAZEER
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
